Toss-Up
by R'ddle
Summary: AU. One must not sit on two chairs so as not to fall through the space in between.


"He broke up with me, Hitsugaya-kun."

He remains silent as he listens to the sobs from the other line. She sounds devastated, and it hurts him to hear the anguish in her voice. His childhood friend, best friend must have really loved the guy and he thinks the world is so unfair that her feelings were taken for granted.

"He broke up with me."

Silence is still his answer.

"Hitsugaya-kun, c-can you p-please... I mean, perhaps, go here? If i-it's alright."

"I'll see about it, Hinamori."

"Oh, okay. I-I'll hang up now."

"Yeah, bye."

He wants to be there to tell her there's no use wasting her tears for a good-for-nothing man like her ex-boyfriend, that she deserves someone better, to assure her that everything will be fine.

But, is it alright?

"It's alright, Toushirou. You can go."

His stare is a question; something that seeks the confidence of his girlfriend's permission.

And her smile is the answer. "I'll be okay. Go. Hinamori-san needs you."

"Thanks, Karin," he tells her, smiling gratefully, kissing her temple softly, "I love you."

He gets out of her apartment without looking back, without seeing the sad, longing smile of his girlfriend as she stares at his retreating form.

...

7 text messages. 3 missed calls. All from Karin.

"Hitsugaya-kun, is there something wrong?"

He turns to the girl cuddled next to him in the sofa. With a sigh, he peeks one more time at his phone's screen and shoves it in his jean's pocket, thinking he'll get back to it later.

"No, Hinamori, _it's nothing_."

...

"So how she's doing?" The words are delivered lightly; the room for emotion is void, yet the question comes as a telling one.

He takes his gaze off of the menu, and stares across the table, brows creasing for he can't pick up a clue on his girlfriend's expression. "Who?"

"Hinamori-san." Everything remains unchanged; gentle enunciation, empty feeling, unfathomable countenance.

"Oh, she's doing fine. I think she has gotten over the break up," he tells her quietly.

At long last, she shows a sign of emotion. She smiles at him, yet somehow, it's far from the ones that often reach her eyes. "I'm glad to know that," she barely whispers.

"Is there something wrong, Karin?" He reaches for her hand across the table, gently rubbing the side of it with his thumb.

Her smile doesn't waver. "Nah, _everything is fine_ , Toush."

Words can mislead, the smile can conspire, but the eyes will never tell a lie. It can never withhold the truth, can never hide the pain that her visage refuses to display.

...

Contented, he watches silently while his best friend skips in the store's aisles, giggling as she pokes at the stuff toy displays. A small smile tugs on his lips, thinking that Hinamori has definitely recovered. Her original personality has been restored, back to the cheerful woman that she was once before the break up.

She's too sweet and delicate, and until now, he still can't imagine how a guy has stood hurting someone as special as her.

He's still pleasantly watching her, when he hears his phone ring. Taking it out from his pocket, he looks at the caller id.

 _It's Karin._

"Hello, Karin."

"Hello, Toushirou, are you busy today?" Her voice is laced with the brightness that he knows so well.

He casts a brief look at Hinamori, before answering, "Uh, actually, I'm with Hinamori, right now, but if you need me, I can go there."

Right then and there, he hears the excitement in her voice disappear. "Oh, I see. Nah, it's nothing important really and Hinamori-san probably needs you more. Just say hi to her for me, 'kay? I love you, Toush."

"I love—" but he doesn't get the chance to finish the statement, as Karin abruptly hangs up on him.

Worried and weirded out, he dials his girlfriend's number and tries to make a return call, eager to know if she's alright.

To his disappointment and surprise, the operator is what answers his call.

...

"What do you think you're doing, Toushirou?"

He looks up from the book, only to see his strawberry blonde assistant frowning at him. Unable to catch on to her question, he raises a brow questioningly. "What are you talking about, Matsumoto?"

"These past few days, I noticed that you've been spending your time with Momo an awful a lot."

Perplexed for he still can't get her point, he furrows his brows as he asks, "And? What's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with that," the woman answers, impatience all clear in her voice. "The problem is I think you're already neglecting your girlfriend because of it."

He stares at her incredulously. Did she just scold her about how he's handling his time? What does she know? He never neglects Karin, he's so sure of that. "Hinamori is my best friend, Matsumoto, and she needs me."

"It's not an issue of who they are to you, Toushirou," Matsumoto answers sharply, "Momo is your best friend, Karin is your girlfriend, and as far as I can see, _they both need you._ But all I am trying to say is you have to know your priority. Tell me, do you still care for Karin? Are you in-love with Momo?"

The questions have certainly caught him off guard for all he's only able to do is open his mouth, intending to give his answer, but no single word has come out.

"If you are in-love with Momo, you have to let Karin know. If you love Momo more than you love Karin, then break up from Karin as soon as possible. She doesn't deserve to be fooled. Now, if you're not in-love with Momo, then make it clear to her. Don't play dumb. It's obvious that she cares for you more than just a best friend so if you can't return that feeling, then don't lead her on." The woman sighs, as she smiles sadly at him. "You can't give the same love for two persons, Toushirou, and you can't choose one without hurting the other. Heartache is inevitable, but at least, you have to be fair to both of them. Otherwise, you all will be broken in the end. It's hard, but you have to choose."

She stares at him silently for a while. When it's apparent that he can't give her any response, she shakes her head and turns away from him to walk for the exit. "Make up your mind before it's too late, Toushirou."

...

Drunk, Karin and Hinamori both passed out.

Hinamori is never good at handling liquors, and while Karin has a high alcohol-tolerance, she has actually downed too much of it this time.

"Someone has to bring them home," Kuchiki Rukia suggests as she glances at the two women on the couch. Looking at the other people around the table, her gaze falls at Toushirou. "Hitsugaya-san—"

"No," Rangiku suddenly cuts in, "He can't take care both of them. Karin and Momo live too far from each other. He'll run out of time." It's really incredible that, despite her drunken state, she still can think of a valid point.

"Let's not make it complicated, I'll accompany my sister to her apartment."

"Stay away from this, Strawberry-tan," Rangiku mumbles almost incomprehensibly. She points an unsteady finger at Toushirou, before continuing, "Let the idiot choose from the best friend and the girlfriend."

Toushirou groans and scowls at his assistant when all the people in the room turn their attentions to him, but he should have known that it was going to happen, sooner than later.

 _He has to choose._

His gaze sweeps at the expectant stares of his companions, before he blows a defeated sigh. He looks at the two women, pondering.

Hinamori is too fragile, too sensitive and she needs someone who will always protect her. It was too unbearable to see her broken, and as much as possible, he doesn't want that happening again.

And Karin is the tough one. He's sure that whatever decision he'll come up with, she'll be able to accept. She will understand.

Finally, he turns back to the others and he can't help but notice the glare that Ichigo is giving him. He has always been overprotective of his sisters, and Toushirou has always taken his threats seriously. _Don't hurt Karin._

"I'm sorry, Kurosaki," he whispers, barely audible, looking at Ichigo straight in the eye.

Fists clenched, Ichigo abruptly stands up and makes an attempt to kick the table, but Rukia is quick to stop him. "Calm down, Ichigo," she tells him softly, holding his upper arm to soothe him. Even she looks upset when she turns to Toushirou.

Rangiku downs the remaining alcohol in the bottle, before glancing at the asleep Karin with an apologetic expression.

It looks like they all judged Toushirou's words too soon.

"I really am sorry to bother you, Kurosaki, but can I please ask you to drive Hinamori and Matsumoto to Hinamori's house?"

"How dare—" Ichigo stops and blinks, "Wait. What did you say?"

Toushirou doesn't answer. Ichigo may be slow, but he's not too dumb.

Toushirou turns to the equally bewildered Rangiku. "I'm leaving Hinamori to you, Matsumoto. I'm sorry, but I can't really trust anyone to take care of her, other than you."

He stands up and walks to the couch. Kneeling in front of Karin, he gently adjusts her head to rest on his shoulder and picks her up, bridal style. He turns one last time to the others, only to see that Ichigo and Rangiku still have those incredulous expressions. "Please, guys. I entrust Hinamori to your care. I have to take care of Karin."

...

It's true that Hinamori needs someone to protect her, but Toushirou can't be that man. He can't always fulfill that role for her. He just wishes... he really wishes for her to find that person soon.

It's true that Karin is tough, and she'll understand, but it's him... It's he who is afraid of the idea of losing her. He's the one who will not be able to take it, he's the one who can't let go.

He loves her too much, and he's been an idiot for believing all those times she told him she was fine, when in fact she was already hurting. In the end, he knows that Karin is the girl who he wants to protect for the rest of his life.

...

"I'm expecting you to be there, Hitsugaya-kun."

"I'll see about it, Hinamori. Bye."

"Okay. Bye."

He sighs as he puts his phone on the table, thinking that his best friend never changed.

"It's fine. You can go."

He turns to his smiling girlfriend, and scowls. "But—"

She stops his objection by kissing him full on the lips. She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and smiles against his lips when she feels him respond eagerly.

Just as he is getting intoxicated by the taste of her, she pulls away, grinning, ever the tease that she is. She giggles, as he frowns in disappointment.

"Don't be silly, Toush," she tells him, leaning to have their foreheads touch, "It's a special day for Hinamori-san, so she wants to see you there. Even I'll be upset if my best friend is absent on my wedding, you know?"

He wraps an arm around her waist, and brushes off the strands of hair which have been stuck on her cheek. Smiling, he leans to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "Okay, but I'm not going without you."

 _..._

 ** _NOTE:_** _In almost every story, the girlfriend never wins against the best friend. The guy always realizes that he's in-love with the best friend, so in the end, he leaves the girlfriend to be with the one he truly loves, the best friend._

 _For once... Even just this once, please, let the girlfriend remains as the girlfriend, and the best friend remains as the best friend._

 _The author is a troll, yeah, you are very welcomed to tell that to her face. :3_


End file.
